It may seem like mountain biking is all about enduro and gravity these days, but there is still a growing endurance segment. Events like the Absa Cape Epic are more popular than ever as riders push themselves to find their own physical and mental limits. Naturally, a relatively new company out of South Africa is focusing specifically on endurance inspired bike solutions. Solutions like their Farr Barr.
From certain angles, the Farr Barr looks fairly radical, but its design makes a lot of sense. We’ve seen everything from special grips, to inner bar ends, to full on aero bars in an attempt to give endurance mountain bikers additional hand positions for grueling endurance events. Rather than adding additional weight and complexity to riders’ setups, Farr builds an additional hand position into the bar itself.
Starting with a 720mm wide full carbon handlebar, the Farr Barr builds in a “wing” on either side of the stem. These wings are the perfect shape to support your palm and form a very comfortable hand position that is probably more aerodynamic as well.
From straight on, the wings disappear into the silhouette of the bar to keep things streamlined. Farr lists the bars as having a 9° rearward sweep, but they also have a noticeable upward component as well.
When mounted, the barrs look pretty normal from the front…
Yet a little wild from the top. Most importantly though, they seem to be very comfortable and ideal for their intended purpose.
On the scale, even with the wings the bars come in at a respectable 168g – only one gram off of claimed.
U.S. Pricing and availability
Since these are geared towards the XC market, even the minimal 720mm width may be too wide for some so the bars are cuttable and include hash marks for cutting guides. Until now, the Farr Barrs and other components haven’t been available in the U.S. Moving forward they’ll be imported by the same folks behind Spēd Precision Wheels, where the bars will sell for $154.95. Email info@spedprecision.com to order or get more info for now until the Farr U.S. website is up and running.
UPDATE: updated with a preorderThe Sped Precision website has been for the bars with expected delivery of mid-February.